Jingle Bells
by swaggyzebraTW
Summary: Shot nine of my predicted series of twelve. Clary and Jace go on a sleigh ride through the center of New York, and get to see all the holiday displays and lights. Surely, nothing can go wrong with that, right? And, what is the rest of the Lightwood gang doing on this fine evening? Summary sucks, sorry. Clace, Simabelle, Malec. Fluffy Christmasness.


**AN: Here's shot nine, and I'm just going to say that I was watching a murder mystery while writing this. Go easy, I wasn't exactly in a romantic environment, but please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Mortal Instruments, **_** all rights go to Cassie Clare and her people. **

The scent of leather and animal flooded my nostrils as I entered the large sleigh. Cool air whipped through my hair, tangling it slightly. The expanse of the night sky floated above, with stars scattered through its entirety. Bells jingled in the darkness as hooves shuffled, the streets ahead of us illuminated by Christmas lights and window displays.

~Line Break: End of Teaser~

The snow that had been falling for hours finally subsided, with the last few snowflakes landing gracefully on the covered ground outside of the Institute. The storm had resulted in turning the entire state of New York into a winter palace; coating every surface with a wonderful blanket of white.

The fire within the Institute's oversized library roared with activity, providing the room with an abundance of heat. Still, I was swathed in multiple layers, with Jace's warm body cuddling mine from behind. I was content, to say the least. It was hard to not be happy around Jace, at least not while he was being himself, and not under his arrogant facade.

The room was silent other than the crackling of flames, and the world felt as though it was at peace. Although I knew this not to be true, that there were actually people fighting to the death as I speak, I was selfish enough to be happy. I wasn't fighting demons in the cold, and neither was Jace or any of the other Lightwoods for that matter. We were all safe, and warm, and somewhere in the Institute, but at the moment, it was just Jace and I in the library.

I figured that Izzy and Simon were probably up in her room, doing unmentionably explicit things as a couple. Magnus and Alec might have snuck out to go last-minute Christmas shopping, or they might be upstairs doing some freakishly adorable thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Magnus was having them make matching holiday sweaters or something of the like. Alec was seemingly willing to do almost anything for Mags. Their bond was just that strong after their separation and getting back together. Their breakup had only served to bring them closer, rather than further away.

Quiet beats of Christmas music sounded through the ceiling and into the library, forming small echoes. I recognized the tune as the classic, "Sleigh Bells", and began to hum softly along with the music. Jace sung softly to himself as well, the feeling vibrating through my back, and I grew pretty sure that he had no idea he was actually singing. It was something I had never seen him do, even though his voice was quite lovely now that I heard it. Deep and melodic.

"Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling, too…" He sang.

A large grin spread along my features. "You should sing more often."

Jace paused mid-lyric, realizing that he had been singing. Aloud. "I-I…" He stuttered uncharacteristically.

I gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. "It's okay, your secret's safe with me, Jace."

He rolled his eyes. "Badasses such as myself aren't supposed to be caught singing Christmas carols."

"I thought it was pretty adorable, actually." I stated honestly. It was nice to see Jace opening up a little more.

"Men aren't supposed to be adorable." He stated sarcastically, grinning. "And most of the ladies prefer to describe me as sexy, or stunningly gorgeous. Not cute, or adorable."

"Who ever says that? One Direction are adorable, and every girl in the world adores them practically…" I began, only to get cut off.

"Who's 'One Direction?'" He asked, genuinely confused.

I remembered that he knew little of mundane pop culture. "A boy-band from the United Kingdom."

"What makes them so special?" Jace asked, clearly skeptical.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

I pulled out my phone and searched them on google, pulling up an image of the band together, which happened to feature a few of the members shirtless, much to Jace's obvious disapproval.

He studied the image briefly, giving me a look of disbelief before he began to chuckle. "People find _them_ attractive? They're a bunch of wannabe youngsters who have yet to hit puberty, and try desperately to have a decent body, when they're failing miserably."

"They're not failing miserably!" I defended fruitlessly. "They have abs!"

"No they don't." He stated, pulling up his own shirt a little for emphasis, revealing his toned stomach in the process.

I tried not to ogle for too long. "Point made." I said, feigning nonchalance.

He noticed my lingering stare, and grinned impishly like he had a year ago when we barely knew each other. "Please, continue to enjoy the view."

I blushed. "Nothing there to enjoy." I lied, trying to be smooth, however, I got the sense that I ended up being the exact opposite.

Jace placed a hand over his heart, feigning indignant pain. "Ouch, Clary. Don't deflate my ego too much, now."

That deserved an eye roll, which I graciously provided. The song switched upstairs, changing to what sounded like Jingle Bells. Higher pitched beats pulsed through the roof, bouncing to the walls and into my ears, filling me with even more Christmas spirit.

"Want to do anything?" Jace asked, breaking me from my mystical holiday reverie.

I shrugged. "Maybe, what did you have in mind, exactly?"

"We could go on a sleigh ride through the city." He recommended. "It's almost dark, and all the holiday lights will be up and lit."

That was a great idea, and not one that I would have come up with myself. I had yet to see the full extent of the main squares decor, either, so that made it an even better idea. I could see the main tree which my crunch for time hadn't allowed me to visit yet. Maybe we could also go window shopping, and finish off the rest of my Christmas shopping.

"Sounds great." I admitted honestly. "Don't you need a reservation or something, though?"

He shook his head, smiling profusely at this point. "Nope, not this close to Christmas. The trips are quite popular this time of year, so they have a ton of them just roaming the streets like taxis."

Jace lifted my out of his lap; setting me down on the floor softly so that he could get up off the couch. He pressed a hand on my lower back, and put his other hand in mine as he guided me to the door.

We crossed into the hallway, entering the elevator. I hit the main floor button unceremoniously, and as we waited of the lift to bring us to the front door, Jace and I kissed a little. Nothing to steamy, just a little slip of tongue and a little wandering of the hands to solve what would have been a boring elevator ride.

We both grabbed coats, slipping them over our shoulders, along with some gloves to prevent our fingers from freezing. I was about to head out the door when Jace handed me a scarf, which I was thankful for him remembering to give me. It was chilly this time of year in New York, and the winter winds could get the best of even the strongest people. Even shadow-hunters.

We walked along the curb, searching for any horse-drawn sleigh that could carry us over to the main square. I kept my ears perked for even the slightest tingle of bells or sound of clattering hooves over pavement; anything that would signal the nearness of a sleigh.

We didn't have to wait longer than five minutes when we spotted a large horse with an empty cart in tow. Bells sounded upon its arrival, and the horse whinnied to a halt with Jace's gesture.

The cart man greeted us. "You two want to ride?"

Jace nodded. "We'd like to take a ride to the square, and ultimately loop back over here."

"Can do." The man stated, motioning to the open cab behind him. "Hop on in, but, if you don't mind me asking, what are two youngsters such as yourselves doing near"—He pointed to the Institute, which was still behind us—"that dump? It's fairly dangerous down here at night."

I shrugged, knowing that mundanes would never get to see the true beauty of the Institute. "We just got lost, I suppose, but I'm glad that you came down here. We had no idea the area was dangerous."

The man nodded, believing me. "You should be more careful. Too many people get mugged in this part of the city."

Jace chuckled, winking at me. We both knew that not a single mundane would be capable of jumping us, and that this area was actually one of the safest in the city, due to the institute's being demon free. Normal people, seemingly blind to half of the world and its wonders, were oblivious to the world within their own, and had no idea of the danger they put themselves in every day. It was because of the loyal worm of people such as Jace and myself that kept them safe, yet why would probably never know that. To them, we just looked like slightly above average teens. Nothing more, maybe less. I suppose maybe they're safer when they're blissfully ignorant.

"We'll try to be more careful, sir." I said dully, knowing that if anyone should be more careful, it's him.

"Good." He said, fixing the reins back in his hands. "You said you wished to go to the main square at the center of the city?"

Jace nodded. "Yes, that would be lovely. Could you take us over the bridge, as well?"

The man rolled his eyes in response, as though he had grown accustomed to these kinds of requests. "Sure."

The scent of leather and animal flooded my nostrils as I entered the large sleigh. Cool air whipped through my hair, tangling it slightly. The expanse of the night sky floated above, with stars scattered through its entirety. Bells jingled in the darkness as hooves shuffled, the streets ahead of us illuminated by Christmas lights and window displays.

I had never been on a horse-drawn sleigh before this night, and I didn't know what to expect. Sure, I had read about them in fairy tales and fantasy novels, and watched others go on them in films, but I hadn't ever seen someone ride one in real life, let alone ride it myself.

The man at the head of the sleigh was steering the horse through the streets, allowing its hooves to clink loudly against the pavement and occasional stretch of cobblestone. Occasionally, it shook its mane or tossed its head; letting out shrill whinnies from deep within its throat that pierced through the otherwise moderately quiet air.

It didn't take long for the animal to pull us onto the bridge, and it trotted smoothly over the waterway. Lights were tangled along the railing, and night fell fast upon us and our sleigh ride, but I found that only added to the majesty and magic if the ride.

Before we were carried off the bridge, I spotted a few boats that were laced with holiday decor and stood out like beacons of light from a lighthouse on a foggy night. A few sailboats even drifted through the sea, despite the cold, and the people manning them were smiling and waving at passerby's such as ourselves, even with their freezing fingers being number than I could probably even imagine.

The cart man steered us down another road, which I had been on many times before, just never in this enjoyable of a scenario. The street was much more beautiful than I remember it ever being, with more lights than Pythagoras could even count.

"A little on the lavish side, wouldn't you say?" Jace said into my ear.

I shook my head. "It's beautiful."

"Never said that it wasn't." He stated, pulling my hand in his once more.

The driver looked back at the two of us. "I have a strict rule against fraternization in this vehicle."

Jace bit his tongue in attempt to keep from chucking. "Our romance isn't forbidden." He stated.

"It is in this sleigh, making it fraternizing." Said the man nonchalantly.

Jace gave me a skeptical look. "You're driving a sleigh around Christmas-time, carrying people through the streets, some of which being couples. You expect that no 'fraternization' is going to occur?"

The man pulled over for a second, turning his eyes away from the road. The horse shuffled uncomfortably, making the small bells jingle. The cart man looked serious, although he was about to kick us off his sleigh, but then he laughed.

"I'm just kidding. Kiss all you want. You should have _seen _the looks on your faces, though!"

Jace looked as though he was about to kick the man's ass for messing with us, but I smiled. Humor was always welcome in my all-too-serious life. "Oh, you had us there." I said.

I elbowed Jace when he made a move to protest. "The man drives a cart all day." I whispered to him. "Give him a little bit of a break and some time to show pleasure."

By this time the man and turned back around in his seat, and was picking up the reins once more. "Call me Chris." He said, not unkindly. "And we'll get this show on the road."

"Well, _Chris._" I began. "How far are we from the center of the city?"

He pointed at the corner up ahead. "Once we round that bend, we'll be in the middle of town."

I looked to Jace, who, much to his own displeasure, was now grinning widely. "Excited much?" I asked, giggling a little.

The sleigh plowed onward, nearing the corner at the end of the street as Jace responded. "You're not? I think it's going to be pretty."

"Did you just say that it's going to be pretty?" I asked in disbelief, raising my eyebrows.

He nodded. "Yep. Just like you."

I rolled my eyes. "That was really cheesy, you know that right?"

"You loved it, don't ben bother denying it."

I opened my mouth to say something back, but the words never came, as we had turned onto main street. My eyes widened with pleasant surprise as the scene revealed itself ahead of us; the most beautiful display of lights to ever be seen unraveling before our eyes.

A large Christmas tree stood ahead of us, its branches bowed with the weight of all the ornaments and garlands that are wound upon it. The star upon its top was huge, and provided enough light to illuminate a large space with little problem. Decorative presents lay at the bottom of the large green mass, and children gathered hand in hand to sing Christmas carols.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Chris asked us, snapping us both out of our reveries. "Even after many times and years of seeing the display, it never gets old or looses its beauty. Truly magnificent, it is."

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding vigorously. "It's really_ pretty_."

"Hmmm." Jace said in acknowledgment, seeing the meaning in my word choice. "It _is_ really _pretty."_

**AN: There it is, and I must say, not good. (I've been saying that a lot lately, and, well, I'm just not feeling it right now, guys. Trying to meet the deadlines, and my quality is being sacrificed, I'm afraid. Not sure I'm gonna make it, either.) Hope you enjoyed, please review regardless. **


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